THIS YEAR? THE MOST POPULAR TUNES WERE MORE THAN JUST CHART TOPPERS. THEY GOT PEOPLE TALKING. ACTION NEWS REPORTER MARK BARGER GIVES US A LOOK AT SOME OF THE HOTTEST MUSIC OF 2013. ## nats "Like the ceiling can't hold us" SONGS AND PERFORMERS WERE NOT ALL THAT MADE MUSIC MEMORABLE IN 2013.... IT WAS ALSO THE YEAR DIGITAL BECAME THE GO-TO REALM FOR MUSIC. "Beyonce's decision to release her album direct to fans only on Itunes at first and only use instagram and Facebook to promote it really underscores this." BILL WERDE IS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR FOR BILLBOARD MAGAZINE... HOME OF THE WEEKLY HOT 100 SONG CHART FOR 55 YEARS. THEY'VE USED SALES, RADIO AIRPLAY AND DIGITAL STREAMS TO GAUGE SONG POPULARITY ...BUT THIS YEAR, BEGAN FACTORING IN YOUTUBE VIEWS AS WELL. This is increasingly the way people are hearing music first, hearing music the most. Those streams can be responsible, depending on the week, for as much as 20-25 percent of a song's chart performance." ALL THAT IN MIND, BILLBOARD'S NUMBER ONE SONG OF THE YEAR WAS "THRIFT SHOP"..... nats "I'm gonna pop tags" BY THE RAP DUO MACKLEMORE AND RYAN LEWIS. "When people like my mom and dad are talking about 'popping tags', you know a song has transcended the form". nats "Maybe I'm going deaf" COMING IN AT NUMBER TWO....WAS ROBIN THICKE'S UBIQUITOUS HIT, "BLURRED LINES" WHILE THE NUMBER THREE SPOT WENT TO "IMAGINE DRAGONS". nats "RADIOACTIVE, RADIOACTIVE" THAT WAS ONE OF SEVERAL HITS TO PUT THE ALTERNATE ROCK BAND ON THE MAP. "The critics can be tough on Imagine Dragons, but the fans love them." FANS ALSO STILL LOVE TAYLOR SWIFT.... nats "I'm feeling 22" SHE WAS BILLBOARD'S FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR. "She really released a fairly progressive pop album with some electronic sounds and some slightly edgier styles of music and edgier aesthetic So she took some chances with her fanbase and her fanbase really followed." nats "You are my treasure" HONORS FOR BILLBOARD'S MALE ARTIST, AS WELL AS ARTIST OF THE YEAR ...WENT TO THE SAME MAN....BRUNO MARS. "Both of Bruno Mars' big hits really lasted a long time on our charts, so that really helped him. and the other thing is, these were hits across a lot of formats." AND MOMENTUM FROM 2013 WILL CARRY INTO THE NEW YEAR FOR MARS--- HE'S THE HALFTIME ACT AT THE SUPER BOWL. MARK BARGER, NBC NEWS. ##